


need a little sweetness in my life

by shxrogane (minsazucar)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Sheith Halloween Exchange, and so does keith :---), i love that pining shiro is a legit tag....what a blessed day, shiro is a nerd and hopeless romantic and i love him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-18 17:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12392679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minsazucar/pseuds/shxrogane
Summary: Every year on the weekend before Halloween, the dorms would coordinate a trick-or-treat event on the first two floors of the building; aka, the freshmen dorm rooms were required to hand out candy while the upperclassmen dressed up and reaped the rewards.Keith couldn’t wait until next year, so he could just stay in his dorm and not participate.---written for the Sheith Halloween Exchange





	need a little sweetness in my life

**Author's Note:**

> so, my original partner/recipient of this fic dropped out of the exchange, but the prompt fill for "trick-or-treat meet-cute + pining shiro" was already done so....hope my new recipient likes it too!

Keith sat in front of his propped open door, lazily flicking some lint off his shirt. All down his dorm hall, doors were propped open, the freshman residents in varying states of excitement. Some students had gone all out with their costumes and even had decorations around their door. Others, like Keith, just wore black and sat on a plain chair in front of their door. The silliest part of this all was that it wasn’t even Halloween yet. So why was he being forced into this?

This, meaning, his college dorm’s _apparent_ Halloween trick-or-treat tradition. Every year on the weekend before Halloween, the dorms would coordinate a trick-or-treat event on the first two floors of the building; aka, the freshman dorm rooms were required to hand out candy while the upperclassmen dressed up and reaped the rewards. Keith couldn’t wait until next year, so he could just stay in his room and not participate at all.

It’s not that he had anything against Halloween. In fact, Keith had always really liked Halloween as a kid; since it was so close to his birthday it didn’t even matter if his foster parents threw a party, he’d still get candy. But he’d stopped trick-or-treating when he was twelve, and he was not gonna start again now. Nope, nowadays, Keith liked spending Halloween watching B-rated horror flicks or going to haunted houses; heck, even those failed ghost adventures with Pidge last year were better than this.

Now he got to sit in his lousy dorm, putting candy into the bags of college students in an array of ridiculous costumes, most common being togas on the wannabe frat boys and “sexy whatever” for every other girl. At least people had stopped pestering him about not wearing a costume, all thanks to his RA, Allura. She'd been checking on the hall residents when she'd skipped past him, plopping a pair of cat ears on his head.

“See how easy that was, Keith? Now you’re a black cat for Halloween. Quite fitting if I do say so myself.” She twittered in that fancy accent of hers before strutting away.

Keith had decided to leave them on, only since it meant he didn’t have to answer stupid questions about his costume anymore. There was a lull in the trick-or-treat crowd and Keith took the time to observe the rooms around him. 

The dorm RAs had given all freshmen the same standard bowl for handing out candy, as well as a couple bags of no-brand-name candy, but the more _enthusiastic_ students had taken it upon themselves to go the extra mile. Some simply decorated the standard orange plastic bowl while others had brought their own Halloween themed bowls; you know, the type that made “spooky” noises or rattled on their own. And now that he looked, some students had even bought and added different candy to their mix. Of course Lance would be one of them, that guy was always trying to show off.

He was so distracted glaring at his hallmate that he didn’t notice someone approaching his door until they were right in front of him. He tensed up, fighting not to flinch in surprise, and dragged his eyes over to his guest. It was some dude dressed as a… pumpkin? It was just a lot of orange, like _everywhere_ , but something was vaguely familiar about him despite the tacky costume. The guy gave him a soft smile and that’s when it clicked. The white hair, the prosthetic arm not quite hidden by the costume, the scar poking out of the half-assed face paint; it was Shiro, one of the most beloved upperclassmen in the building.

Keith had never actually met the guy, but he knew _of_ him, had seen him around campus. He’d always seemed nice enough and Keith had nothing against him, but he didn’t understand the big deal. The guy was apparently smart and nice and “cool” (whatever that meant), but that didn’t mean Keith would worship the ground he walked on like everyone else. He dug in his candy bowl and tossed a few pieces into Shiro’s bag, giving him a curt nod, just like he’d done for the past hour. Except, Shiro didn’t leave.

“Hey, your name is Keith, right? I’m Shiro,” he introduced himself with a smile, holding out his hand.

“I know,” Keith blurted without thinking, faking a cough to recover. “Uh, I mean, yeah I’m Keith.”

“Yeah.” Shiro smiled awkwardly, retracting his hand. Fuck, Keith was supposed to shake his hand, wasn’t he? Before he could ponder whether or not to apologize, Shiro was speaking up again.

“Um, so, I was gonna ask, when this is done, if you want you can come to my dorm and I’ll split the candy with you,” he offered with a shy grin, noticeably nervous. 

Keith’s brain stuttered to a halt. If he didn’t know any better, he would think Shiro was trying to proposition him. It wouldn’t be the first time. Keith had sort of a… _reputation_ on campus, for some reason or another. To this day, he still wasn’t too sure where the rumors had started, or even why, but they were there. And all too often, guys would approach him, hoping for an easy lay. They never got what they wanted, obviously, yet the rumors never died.

The thing was, Shiro had never struck him as that type of guy. Not the type to indulge in rumors, nor the type to believe them. Shiro hitting on him out of the blue seemed kind of out of character. Then again, Keith didn't actually _know_ Shiro at all, really. So in this instance, it was probably best to play it safe. He huffed and looked up with a slight scowl.

“Are you coming onto me?” He asked, slightly accusatory, but mostly just confused.

“What?” Shiro’s eyes widened and his face flushed at the implication. “What, no! No, legit, I’m just asking if you want candy. I don’t eat that many sweets and I remember how much it sucked as a freshman to get only leftovers and stuff.”

Keith felt a smile tug at his lips. The sincerity in his voice was a relief and Keith felt himself relax a bit. Also, he rather liked this flustered look on Shiro, someone who always looked calm and collected from a distance. He was man enough to admit he’d like to see _more_ of this side of Shiro. That was a big reason why he actually considered the offer. He leaned forward with a small smile.

“What kind of candy you got?” He asked, with a curious tilt of his head.

Shiro quickly opened his bag and let Keith have a look inside. He hummed in consideration, noticing a few of his favorite candies in the mix. He looked back up at Shiro who was watching him closely, cheeks still dusted a light pink, and smiled fully. 

“Alright, I’ll come up later,” he replied, leaning back with a self-satisfied hum.

“Really?” It was hard not to grin at the hopeful tone in Shiro’s voice.

Keith nodded. “Yeah. What’s your room number?”

“503,” Shiro answered with a lopsided smile. The hall started filling up with people again, crowding around the pair and Shiro frowned. “Guess I’ll get going. I’ll see you later then, Keith.”

“Sure. Later.” Keith waved him away with a lazy smile.

His smile softened into something more fond as Shiro disappeared in the crowd of students. Keith had never really ever considered talking to Shiro, but if he’d had, that was definitely not how he imagined their first conversation to go. Shiro was surprisingly… cute. He’s not sure what prompted the upperclassman to talk to him like that, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. Keith bit his lip to subdue his smile as he tossed some candy into new bags. This could be fun.

\---

“I can’t believe I just did that.” Shiro muttered to himself, hand clutched over his chest.

“Can’t believe you did what?”

Shiro only startled _slightly_ when Matt materialized next to him, a twizzler hanging out of his mouth. 

“I, uh, sort of invited Keith to our dorm room tonight?”

Shiro tried to shrug like it was no big deal, but it was useless. Matt stopped in his tracks, staring at him like if he’d just grown a second head. Shiro rolled his eyes, but couldn’t fight away his blush no matter how hard he tried. He grabbed Matt’s arm and tugged him along, not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of the hall. The movement seemed to kickstart Matt’s brain again, a sly smile crossing his face as he jogged to keep up with Shiro’s fast pace.

“My dearest friend, Takashi Shirogane, are you saying you _finally_ grew a pair and talked to the man of your dreams just now?”

“Don’t say it like that! I swear, Matt…” Shiro blushed brighter, if that was even possible.

“Okay then, how _should_ I say it?” Matt scoffed and pulled out his key to open their room door. 

Shiro pursed his lips and followed Matt inside. Technically, Matt was right. Shiro had been meaning to talk to Keith for… quite some time now. Like, since the start of the semester. Matt would call it pining, but Shiro thought that was ridiculous. You couldn’t pine after a person you didn’t even _know_. Shiro just thought Keith looked like an interesting person. He liked interesting people. End of story.

He'd just been waiting for the right opportunity to talk to him; this dorm event had provided that for him. It was much better than approaching Keith in the courtyard or cafeteria or some other place that might draw too much attention. And approaching him in the gardens near the edge of campus, where he could be found reading nearly every evening, would be kind of creepy. It wasn't as if Shiro kept tabs on him or anything like that. He just noticed things, okay? And the gardens were always relatively empty and a good place to visit when he needed some peace and quiet. But that was all besides the point, because Matt had never listened to his “bullshit excuses” anyways. If Matt stuck around while Keith was here, Shiro just knew there would be teasing involved. The type of teasing he was _not_ comfortable with.

“Whatever. Just like… be a bro and make yourself scarce? Please?” Shiro asked, a twinge of desperation creeping into his tone.

“Dude, what happened to ‘bros before hoes’? I’m hurt.” Matt actually had the audacity to look scandalized.

Shiro breathed heavily through his nose. “I’ll clean the entire dorm for two weeks.”

“Including the after-party cleanups?” Matt eyed him suspiciously.

“Yes.” Shiro agreed through clenched teeth.

“Deal!” Matt exclaimed with a smile. “Good luck man, you’re gonna need it.”

With that, he slapped Shiro on the back and retreated to his room. Shiro let out a deep breath, groaning internally at the mess he’d gotten himself into. After party cleanups were the _worst_ , and Matt knew they had a planned party for Halloween later this week. Asshole. He sighed and plopped down on the couch, resigned to his fate. At least he had Keith to look forward to. He really _had_ been meaning to get to know him for a while now.

Their campus wasn’t that big as far as university standards went, so it was pretty common to see certain people multiple times throughout the day. So even if they were in completely different classes and class standings, it wasn’t hard to find Keith around campus. Even if he hadn't stumbled upon Keith's reading spot in the gardens, he caught enough glimpses of him throughout the day. If he wasn't reading under the shade of the trees, then he was lingering near the fine arts buildings or physics department. 

He found himself increasingly curious about what Keith studied, what kind of books he liked, what his favorite foods were… he wasn't sure what it was about the boy that intrigued him so much. It was time to call it what it was, just plain attraction. Shiro felt himself hopelessly drawn to the dark haired student. 

A sharp knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. Shiro scrambled off the couch and to the door, yanking it open before he could over think things. 

There Keith stood, hands tucked casually in his black hoodie, looking effortlessly good in plain black jeans, as always. Shiro was especially delighted to note that he hadn’t taken off the cat ears yet. Keith was all severe angles and sharp edges; it was nice to see him in something that softened his overall effect on people. Keith cleared his throat and Shiro flinched, flushing bright red as he realized he’d just been standing there, staring like a lovestruck fool.

“Hey, Keith, come in.” Shiro opened the door wider and stepped aside, a shaky smile on his face.

Keith raised a brow and bit back a smirk, but otherwise didn’t say anything as he slipped inside. Shiro’s palms were sweating as he closed the door, watching Keith wander into his dorm, so nonchalant. This was a mistake. He underestimated just how choked up he’d get when facing Keith alone. He shouldn’t have made Matt seclude himself, teasing or not. It would’ve been better than the flurry of nerves currently swirling through his body.

Keith strolled into the living room, for the first time seeming out of his element. His bright eyes found Shiro’s and he smiled, a little strained this time. 

“So, are you gonna show me the candy? Or was this _actually_ a ploy to seduce me?” It was a joke, Shiro could tell, but there was also a bit of tension in Keith’s voice.

Keith was _nervous_. That little revelation was enough to give him the courage he needed to continue. He smiled sincerely this time, walking forward into the living room. He grabbed his bag of candy from the coffee table and held it up, beckoning Keith over. 

“Right, yeah, sorry. Here, we can sit on the couch if you want.”

Keith hesitated for a moment before moving forward and gracefully sitting next to him. Shiro handed over his bag of candy and Keith grabbed it, looking up at him shyly. From a distance, Keith always seemed so cold and unapproachable, sort of like a marble statue in a fine art museum. Up close, Keith was still tragically handsome, but there was a bit of awkwardness to his movements, a lingering shyness that had Shiro’s heart racing. 

He watched with a small smile as Keith methodically searched through the candy. He made these small triumphant sounds every time he found something he liked, plucking them out and stuffing them in his hoodie pocket. Shiro started to notice a pattern in the candies Keith favored: butterfingers, snickers, payday bars, almond joy...

“So, you really like nuts, huh?” The question left Shiro’s lips suddenly, almost involuntarily.

Keith stared up at him with wide eyes and Shiro stared back, equally mortified. His face was probably the brightest shade of red possible and he was ready to resign himself to never speaking to Keith ever again. But then, there was a break in the tension, and Keith laughed. Like really, truly laughed; it was breathtaking. Shiro joined in with his own chuckles, a wave of relief washing over him as the last of the tension dissolved around them.

“Yeah, I like nuts.” He smiled crookedly, taking a bite from a payday bar. 

Shiro breathed another laugh and sat back on the couch. He hummed comfortably in the silence that followed, thinking about what he'd always wanted to talk to Keith about. Might as well start with the basics. 

“So, what are you studying?” He asked, glancing over. 

“I’m undeclared. Can’t decide between English or something more… practical.” Keith shrugged, putting down the bag of candy. 

“Ah, I know the feeling all too well.” Shiro responded solemnly. 

Keith looked up at him at that, confusion clear on his brow. Shiro gave him a lopsided smile before explaining. 

“I was undeclared for my first few semesters. I’m pretty sure my family expected me to do something practical eventually, like some sort of pre-med science or engineering.” Shiro shrugged.

Keith leaned forward a bit in his seat, a spark of interest in his eye. Shiro felt a thrill to be the focus of that attention. When Shiro didn’t elaborate (would it be too cliche to say he got lost in Keith’s eyes?), Keith swallowed the last of his candy and prompted him to continue.

“Yeah? What’re you majoring in then?” He asked, genuinely interested.

“Ancient history,” Shiro answered wryly.

Keith snorted, face scrunching in amusement, and Shiro’s breath caught in his throat. That was _way_ too cute.

“Suddenly my choice of classical literature doesn’t seem so impractical,” Keith teased. 

“Hey now, ancient history is awesome and I won’t stand for its disparage in this house.” Shiro joked, bumping shoulders with Keith playfully.

That might’ve been the wrong move, judging by the way Keith stiffened at the contact. Keith relaxed in the next second, the transition nearly imperceptible, but Shiro noticed. He backed off and made a mental note on it. Keith hummed and leaned back, eyes on Shiro again before offering a shy smile.

“Oh yeah? I’d like to hear about it some time.”

Shiro blinked, processing Keith’s words. Was that… an invitation? Keith wanted to keep in contact with him? Or at least, meet up again in the future? Shiro didn't want to come off as too eager and scare him off though. 

“I’d like to… tell you about it some time.” He replied hesitantly, a hopeful glint in his eye. 

Keith stared at him, almost expectantly. Right, the ball was still in his court. He had to make a move somehow. Maybe he should ask him out for coffee? Would that be too forward? He heard Matt stifle a laugh in his room and turned to glare at his closed door. Eavesdropping jerk. But, that also gave him an idea. 

“Hey listen, my roommate and I are throwing a party this weekend, for Halloween. I’d really like it if you could join us. If you’re not busy, that is.”

Shiro tried to sound casual about it, but it was probably impossible to fully hide the eagerness in his tone. But Keith didn’t seem put off by it, instead, Shiro swore he saw a glimmer of excitement in those deep blue eyes.

“I should be free. Sounds fun.” Keith agreed with a smile.

“Great.” Shiro breathed in relief, heart fluttering at the prospect of seeing Keith again.

Keith rustled through his hoodie pocket, digging through all the candy he shoved in there. He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times before handing it to Shiro.

“You should give me your number.” He stated more than asked and Shiro just nodded dumbly.

“Okay.”

He took the phone and typed in his number, triple checking to make sure he didn’t mix up any numbers. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally give a wrong number, resulting in horrible miscommunication issues, and missing out on getting to know Keith. Talk about his worst nightmare. He handed back the phone once he was confident the number was correct, and nearly melted under the bright smile Keith gave him. He stood up and put the phone back in his pocket with a soft sigh.

“I’ve gotta go now. Curfew is coming up,” Keith explained, almost looking apologetic. 

“Right, yeah.” Shiro stood up quickly, having forgot all about curfew. He led Keith back to the door, calling out before he left, “It was nice to finally meet you, Keith.”

Keith stopped in the hall and turned back with the softest expression Shiro had ever seen on him. “Nice to meet you too, Shiro.”

And with that, he was gone, and he’d taken more than just some of Shiro’s candy; he’d taken a piece of his heart, too.

**Author's Note:**

> pining shiro is my kink
> 
> hmu on tumblr @fratboyshiro yo


End file.
